Bad fertilisation

[Amy1122]

So that’s it.. round 3 done! In my 3 cycles, with 35 eggs retrieved, I’ve only ever had 1 fertilise.. and even that didn’t make it to blastocyst stage and ended up with me doing a 2 day transfer and BFN.

I don’t really know where to go from here... or what to do... has anyone had a similar experience?

I am 27.. my husband is 31. We are fit and healthy. My husband has low sperm count and low motility. I have high prolactin and PCOS.

I just can’t even understand how?? How did I become so unlucky.

Fortunately I have money saved ready for round 4 but I just don’t know what to do. Do I go for donor egg/sperm?? Or do I try again with my own...

[Lovemylion]

O no hun. I'm sorry to read this. We also have poor fertilisation. Last two fresh rounds only 1 has fertilised and we have no idea why. It's so frustrating. I may also be asking soon whether we do donor sperm/eggs. Xxx

[Whatarollercoster]

I’m so sorry Amy. It must be an incredibly difficult situation to be in and my heart goes out to you and your partner. Whatever decision you make for the next round I wish you every success xxx

[Amy1122 in reply to Whatarollercoster]

Thank you so much. Your name says it all! What a rollercoaster! Xx

[RhinoCat]

Oh my life 💔🥺😩.... have a review with your clinic and ask your questions before you make a decision. They should be honest if they feel you should move to donors etc . Sending massive hugs! 💐💐💕💕 🤗

[Amy1122 in reply to RhinoCat]

Thank you so much xxx

[leo1980]

So sorry to hear your news. Which clinic are you with? Did they do all the necessary tests - karatyping etc. Also worth adding AOA next time once all the other preliminary tests are done to figure out if it’s the egg or the sperm. Sending you much love!

[Amy1122 in reply to leo1980]

No I don’t think I had all the necessary tests. I did do AOA and even that didn’t make a difference xx

[BBHH1]

Sorry to hear. I don’t think your situation seems hopeless. I think you need a second opinion and change clinics. Good luck

[Amy1122 in reply to BBHH1]

Thank you. I’m going to get a second opinion and see what they say!! Xx

[BBHH1 in reply to Amy1122]

Good! I can give you recommendation for video call in the US if you want.

Also I think if no issues are found and you move to donor (again I don’t think you need to) trying donor sperm first instead of donor eggs makes more sense to me. With donor eggs you will get someone your age with sometimes unknown fertility?! So what’s in there for you?

[Marisa32]

Hi Amy, so sorry to hear. I'm not sure if this is doable for you but a while ago someone posted on here a similar story. They ended up doing a sort of a tandem cycle abroad with OE and DE at the same time. Her husband's sperm was used to fertilize both and then she waited to see if any of her OE made it. They didn't but the DE ones turned into few decent embryos and she just went with those. She wasn't completely ready to give up on her OE but at the same time she didn't want to go around in circles, so this was a pretty good solution. It would also give you an answer regarding needing a DE or a sperm donor depending on the outcome. Because if none of the DE fertilize, then the sperm is likely the issue not necessarily your eggs. Good luck with whatever you decide to do next!

[Amy1122 in reply to Marisa32]

That’s a very good idea.. thank you for this suggestion!! Xxx

[miracleneeded]

Hey. So sorry to read. I’ve done four rounds myself so I know how devastating it can be. Just wondering, did you do IVF or ICSI? Also, has your partner had his sperm DNA tested for fragmentation? High fragmentation can result in low fertilisation rates. What does your doc think the issue is?

I would be having some more tests before moving on to round 4.

[Amy1122 in reply to miracleneeded]

I did icsi can’t believe it. Even my clinic can’t believe it. I have a follow up on Friday where they’re going to talk me through what they think.

I’m going to get my husbands sperm tested too xxx

[miracleneeded in reply to Amy1122]

Let me know what they say. And definitely get those tests done. I know the temptation is to keep moving forward and go into another cycle but I wish someone had told me just to stop, take a breath and reassess the situation. Get some answers before you make any decisions, and if your clinic can’t provide them, get a second opinion. Using a donor is a massive step, you don’t want to look back and feel you rushed into it without investigating all avenues. Fingers crossed your clinic gives you some insight! 🤞🏻

[Amy1122 in reply to miracleneeded]

That is sound advice. I’ve done 3 cycles in the space of a year. I’m going to take a little break and in the meantime try and get some answers!! Xx

[Ivfgotadream]

I definitely wouldn’t do another round of the same protocol as it’s obviously not working for you? My fertilisation went from less than 30% to 100% by changing to natural modified IVF with ICSI x

[Amy1122 in reply to Ivfgotadream]

I used ICSI and this is my 3rd round and each round I did different protocols xx

[AJJ123]

Really sorry to hear that, clearly you’ve plenty of eggs and having pcos myself I’d say that’s a positive.

Is there a way that your husbands sperm quality can be optimised or improved? He has age on his side - you both do.

Failing that, sperm donation might be the answer if you’re both ok with that. Xx